1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to railroad autorack cars for carrying automotive vehicles, and more particularly concerns plug assemblies for covering holes in the deck of modified railroad autorack cars to thereby prevent wind turbulence within the railroad autorack cars that causes a sand blast effect on the paint finish of the automobiles in the cars, with the dust and dirt within the cars impinging against and damaging the paint finish of the automobiles.
This invention also concerns a method of installing the inventive plug assemblies into deck holes by one person and from inside the autorack car.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Railroad companys from time to time modify intermodal cars 11, i.e., flat bed railroad cars, for use as autorack cars which are used for transporting new automotive vehicles such as automobiles, trucks and vans from manufacturer to the automotive dealers. Intermodal cars 11 are equipped with container mounts or chocks 13 that lock containers 15 or trailer trucks 17 in place on the car 11 (FIGS. 1-3). These container mounts 13 are moveable in longitudinal slots 19 in the deck 20 of the cars 11 to suit different length containers. The mounts 13 are slidable within the slots 19 and are locked into deck holes at set locations.
A railroad intermodal car 11 is modified to become an autorack car 23 by providing additional decks, sides 25, and a roof 27, as well as adding end closures 29, to the flat deck 20 of the intermodal railroad car 11.
However, automobile companys are complaining that the deck holes of these converted autorack cars 23 create a wind turbulence within the railroad car, and this wind turbulence creates a mini sand blast effect on the paint finish of the automobiles contained within the autorack car, with the dust and dirt inside the autorack car impinging on and damaging the finish of the automobiles.
Accordingly, the railroad industry is looking for a means of covering these deck holes in the converted autorack cars 23 to prevent the wind and dirt from damaging the paint and finish of the automobiles. A plug may solve the problem. However, the plug design must be such that the plug may be installed by only one person, and may be easily installed from the top of the deck for the safety of the installer so that the installer does not have to crawl beneath the railroad car.
It is further required that the plug does not extend far above the deck surface so as to avoid introducing a tripping hazard for the people loading automobiles into the autorack car 23. Also, moisture and snow may collect on the deck of the autorack car 23 and must be removed, so the plug must withstand the means of snow removal.
A further problem that prevents covering deck holes easily is a new automobile chock apparatus for holding truck trailers in place on a railroad car, such as that obtainable from IEC-HOLDEN, INC., Montreal, Quebec, H4T 1G8, Canada, which is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. This chock apparatus includes a pair of deck grates 33 and 35 that are mounted one on each side of the deck 20 and include a hinge 37, 38 which is located near the side wall 25 of the autorack car 23. These grates 33 and 35 partly cover one of the deck holes 43 and leave various widths of the deck hole open. Covering a deck hole 43 which is partly covered by a grate 35 is difficult because the uncovered portions, such as uncovered portion 43c of deck hole 43, are not the same size, and depends on how much of the deck hole is covered by the grate.